DUSHANBE, April 21, 2010, Asia-Plus — The Food Security Monitoring System of the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that overall food insecurity has slightly worsened in the first quarter of 2010, leaving over one-third of the rural population in Tajikistan food-insecure, the REACT (Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team) News Bulletin # 18 reports.
One quarter of the rural dwellers is classified as moderately food insecure, up from 20% in the last monitoring round, and another 10% remains severely food insecure. Almost half of the households say they had difficulties in satisfying their food needs in the past three months. 81% of households report not having sufficient stocks for early spring.
Households that achieved food secure did so through the availability of wheat stocks from the last harvest, free food provided by relatives, borrowing and begging for food among other coping strategies, which will negatively impact on living conditions in the long run.
Adversely affecting food security are the decrease of job opportunities in winter, the slump in remittances, continued food price increases and ad hoc expenditures for the purchase of shares in the Roghun hydropower project.
The Disaster Management Partnership in Tajikistan – Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team (REACT) was established in 2001 to promote the sharing of information, logistics and other resources between partners active in the disaster management sector, including the Committee for Emergency Situations and the Government of Tajikistan. The group that involves over 50 state, local and international organizations and entities meets regularly to coordinate and share experiences on issues related to various areas of disaster management, including preparedness, response, mitigation and capacity building activities with national bodies. During emergency situations the partnership works closely together, coordinating response and assistance.
